


We Stay

by OrionRedde, Shyrstyne



Series: Cometverse [31]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Werecreatures, Moderate Body Horror, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-08
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2020-02-28 15:21:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18759106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OrionRedde/pseuds/OrionRedde, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shyrstyne/pseuds/Shyrstyne
Summary: Lea is still keeping secrets, but at least now it's not malicious, right? Nobody needs to know, and he doesn't want to think about it, so he says nothing. To him, it's as simple as that.





	1. Little Talks

**Author's Note:**

> Woah we've been uploading pretty steady lately. Would be a shame if we were to.. take a break after this one......
> 
> Also Isa and Merlin are a delight to write together, and I wish we had more opportunities to do so. As per usual, Merlin casually dropping the most useless of future hints lol.

Lea and Isa are sitting at a booth in Comets bar, both quietly talking and nursing a drink each while Comet works. 

It’s companionable, just talking like this, repairing their friendship. It’s not the wild energy of youth anymore, but the spirit of it remains despite all odds. Lea sees it every time he manages to make Isa huff a laugh or smile ruefully at him. Isa sees it in the lopsided grins and lighthearted banter.

“Full moon is tonight.” Isa comments, and Lea frowns, looking away. He’s been looking a little off today, and Isa wonders if he’s feeling well. Lea has always been particularly good at hiding his hurts, but Isa has always been particularly good at seeing through the facade.

“Yeah. I told you about Roxas and Xion right?” 

Isa nods. 

“An unexpected turn, though perhaps not entirely unsurprising. Sora’s connections have often operated in unique ways.”

“True that.” Lea says, spinning the straw around his drink, some fruity monstrosity Isa could hardly pronounce the name of. “We warned them they should probably come home for full moons for a while, until they’re more comfortable with it.”

Isa hums agreeably. It makes sense, were’s were naturally predisposed to seeking out pack during the moons anyway, needing the touch and comfort of family. Though Roxas and Xion were rarely separated, so in that sense at least they always had  _ someone _ with them.

“Did you have plans in mind for them?” It’s very nearly a rhetorical question, he knows he does, he just wants to know what they are. 

“Gonna take em out to the woods again. I took them last time but by the time we got through just being able to get up and run the night was almost over.” He looks wistful. “I barely remember the rules of some of those old games we used to play but I want to show them at least a few of them.”

“If there’s any you can’t recall I’d be happy to help. I’m sure between the two of us we can remember most of them.”

“Thanks Isa.”

“Are you going to teach them any of your packs songs?”

“.... do you think they’d have wanted that?” Lea looks mournful, which wasn’t what Isa had intended at all. 

“Lea, they’re your pack now, of course your family would have wanted you to pass on their songs.”

Lea leans back in his seat, looking up at the ceiling in thought. 

“I can only teach parts of it. Don’t exactly have the right vocal chords for it anymore.” He says with a bitter smile. Isa frowns. 

“You haven’t changed back?” Lea had come back from being a nobody  _ months _ before he had, and Isa had assumed he’d changed before his return.. Or perhaps simply not felt their friendship repaired enough to want him there as pack. The former made sense, and the latter would have  _ hurt _ but Isa couldn’t have blamed him if that had been the case. To learn Lea hadn’t changed at  _ all _ …

“Nah. Figured the whole nobody thing fucked something up with all that, so. It’s just little old human me.” He takes a sip of his drink. “I’ve still got a heart now, if I have to choose between the two I know which one’s more important.”

Isa knows better, how important being a were was to their identity. Being the only human in a full house of were’s had made that abundantly clear growing up. He remembers how Axel had spent  _ years  _ watching the full moon rise and set with a numb sort of lost reverie. How he’d honed his skills with the single minded focus, feeling blind and mute and powerless without the ability to shift.

“Are you sure it’s not just delayed somehow?”

“It’s been almost a year.” Lea sighs. “Just drop it, Isa.”

He let’s the conversation go but he refuses to forget. Lea might have given up but Isa was always the researcher of the two of them.

When he tries to do that research however, his resources are pathetically thin. He knows plenty about were’s, between his own family and being practically adopted into Lea’s, not to mention the things they’d learned in school. But the only research on nobodies had been conducted by the apprentices after becoming nobodies themselves. There was exactly nothing concerning the crossover between the two. 

He considers asking Terra for a brief moment, the only other former were among the recompleted, but knows he’ll find no answers, the trio still trying to figure out Terra’s own unique situation themselves, him having both existed and not those ten years as a nobody. Time travel had made an already complicated scenario more so. Not to mention that Xehanort had actively suppressed Terra’s abilities long before their hearts had been stolen. All in all it was a mess, but the three held on to the hope that now that he wasn’t being actively suppressed, Terra’s ability would come back as soon as his body could support it again.

Lea’s capability on the other hand had simply… vanished. 

So he doesn’t ask Terra. He’s mildly grateful that he doesn’t have to, having not really spoken to any of them before and unwilling to initiate like that. He combs libraries, searches for answers, but can’t find anything even remotely relevant to their unique problem. 

He says nothing to Lea, unsure how his friend would feel knowing he was dedicating such time and energy into something he’d already given up on. Despite not knowing what he was researching, Lea shows up regularly to make sure he takes breaks, something he appreciates, as he too easily falls into the grip of books and words and forgets the time until the sun dips under the horizon late into the night. 

It’s one such evening, a couple months later as Lea pulls him from the library and asking if he’s eaten anything today, that he meets Merlin the first time. 

“Hey old man!” Lea greats casually. “Didn’t know you were in town.”

“Only briefly, my boy, and dare I say you should have more respect, Little Sun!” He falls in step with them, though Isa isn’t sure if he was actually invited. Lea laughs.

“Nah I’m good. You coming to see Comet?”

“Ah yes of course! I knew I was forgetting something. Sometimes my feet know better than I do, haha.” He’d been less than two blocks from the bar, and Lea pulls the door open to let them both in. 

“Merlin, Isa, fancy seeing you here.” Comet greets. 

“Ah wonderful to see you my dear,” Merlin says. “It’s good to see the cosmos finally starting to align. Do you have any of that oolong left?”

Isa and Merlin take seats as Comet shakes their head and Lea moves around the counter to pull out some food. 

“Ran out a few years ago I’m afraid. I have jasmine if you want some though.”

“That would be fine, that would be fine, thank you. You should pick up chamomile and ginger tea. It’s good for headaches.”

“You get headaches?” Isa asks, curious, and thanks Lea as he deposits a hastily thrown together sandwich in front of him. Comet shakes their head. 

“No more than anyone else. Merlin likes to drop cryptic hints about the future though, so maybe that’s going to change.”

“Now now my dear, they’re only cryptic because you lack context.”   
  
“Which you refuse to give.” Comet snarks.

“Nothing good comes of knowing too much of the future.” Isa says quietly, picking up his sandwich and taking a bite. Merlin nods seriously.

The future. No wonder the man was so scattered. Isa’s own seer abilities often left him overwhelmed and catatonic if he tried to scry too far. The future had no one set path, and so the information gained was suspect at best anyways. He stuck to the present if he could, and ignored the moon's pull that always promised more. 

“Did you get that text from Roxas and Xion?” Lea asks Comet, and they nod.

“Yeah, sounds like Sora and Kaze have kidnapped them this month. Don’t pout, we can’t hoard them all the time, and I’m sure we could visit them ourselves if we wanted.”

“Nah.” Lea says, leaning back casually. Isa can tell it’s entirely forced “I think Sora wants to do a pack bonding thing with them and Naminé, we’d just be in the way.”

“Lea.” Isa starts, though he’s not sure what else to say.

“It’s fine Isa. I can’t be the protective watchdog all the time, remember?”

The watchdog comment is bitterly pointed, and Isa isn’t sure if it’s aimed at Isa or himself. He can tell he’s hurting, missing pieces of himself. His own heart clenches uncomfortably in response.

He seeks out Merlin later, and very nearly misses him entirely as the old man prepares to wander back to Radiant Garden. 

“Ah, Waxing Gibbous how can I help you?”

His heart fills with hope at the title. The filling moon. He was healing. 

“I had some questions, and I was hoping you could answer them.” His eyes track Merlin as he shuffles about his small abode, picking things up and placing them elsewhere seemingly at random. 

“Ask away, my boy, though I would think you would know the perils of consulting the future for anything.”

“It’s not for the future. It’s for a friend who’s lost something.”

“Ahhhh of course, how silly of me. Your fire, the sun, correct?”

Isa coughs awkwardly. 

“He’s.. he’s not mine. But I want to help him regain the parts of himself he lost when we became nobodies.”

Merlin hums a small ditty as he pulls a kettle from nowhere and sets it on a nearby stove. 

“A noble cause, would you like anything to drink?” He takes off his glasses to clean them. 

“Not today, thank you.”

“Well at least you have manners. I’m afraid I can’t help you though, your fire hasn’t lost anything I can find.” He scratches his head, picking up books and searching his cluttered space intently. 

“So.. he’s lost it forever?” It’s disheartening to hear. 

“Lost what?”

“His ability to turn with the moon.”

“Who?”

“Lea.”

“What about him?”

Isa sighs, and Merlin continues his hunt.

“Nothing, I suppose. It was a vain hope.” 

“Ah what’s life without a little vain hope? He’s an impertinent boy that Lea! But steadfast, loyal, burnt to embers and come out a roaring bonfire the other side. But you’d know that, eh?”

He does. 

“I want to help him, but nothing I’ve found so far has been able to.” The kettle whistles, and Isa wonders when Merlin has turned the stove on, or if he even had. A cup pours itself and floats over to him, teabag already inside. 

“All things in due time.” Merlin waves a finger. “Drink up, it’s ginger. You’ll need it later.” Ah, that was right. The full moon was in only a couple days. His headaches hadn’t started yet, but they likely would soon. He takes a sip. 

“Thank you.”

“Not a problem dear boy! You can repay me by telling me what colour you want the master bedroom to be; the coffee table is a complete loss even for my abilities but everything else should be fixable.”

Isa blinks. Was his home going to get wrecked? He wasn’t truly worried about it, he was staying in one of the small, transient places on the edges of town and barely had anything to his name, but he didn’t relish the thought either.

“I’m afraid I haven’t thought about it.”

“Hm.” Merlin taps his glasses against his cheek, pondering. “Think fast boy, because the other two are giving me terrible choices and I’m hoping you will have more sense.”

Other two? Perhaps this wasn’t for  _ his _ home then, though he couldn’t begin to guess who would want him involved in choosing room colours for them. Lea perhaps, but he couldn’t imagine Comet giving up anything so personal to what would be essentially a strangers decision.

“Something dark.” He answers, when it seems Merlin really is waiting for him this time. “Maroon, perhaps.”

“Excellent. Would you like a hat?” He picks one up and sets it on the table next to Isa’s cup.

“I… Thank you.” He doesn’t know what he needs the hat for, but he accepts the gift anyway. He finishes the last bit of tea and stands. “And thank you for talking to me.”

“My pleasure, moonchild. Now if only I could find those blasted spectacles!” He huffs, one hand on his hip and the other scratching his head. Isa smothers a smile, reaches over, and plucks the frames from Merlin’s hand, presenting them to him.

“Ah wonderful! Thank you, thank you. I would have been here all day. Safe travels home now, goodbye.”

Isa takes his leave, hat under one arm, turning Merlin’s words over in his mind. He finds he likes talking to the wizard, like talking to a puzzle, fascinating and engaging. He’s no closer to answers for Lea, however, which is disheartening. He enters his small home and sets the hat on the small table that sits next to his front door, idly considering what he can try next.

Two days later, the full moon rises, and Isa lounges in his small, barren flat. The too-thin curtains are closed and he’s drinking tea when his phone rings shrilly.

He sees the name across the display. Comet’s calling him. Why would they be calling him?

“Comet,” He answers. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“It’s Lea.” They sound breathless, panicked, and his heart nearly stops. “Something’s wrong. He’s very sick, and if it’s what I think it is he’ll need a lot of help. Can you come over?”

He’s up and moving across the room before they’ve even finished speaking.

“I’m on my way.” He says and cuts the connection without fanfare.

He grabs the hat by the door, tugging it low over his eyes, and takes a deep breath.

_ Don’t look up _ , he tells himself, and then he opens the door.

Lea needs him.


	2. Oh, Shit

   Lea keeps his mouth shut about being a were. It’s nobody’s business, and he hasn’t changed in a little over a decade so what does it matter? His heart definitely aches, watching the other weres interact with each other. He can’t exactly scent anybody anymore, can’t sense how they’re feeling or take as much comfort from physical touch as he used to. There’s a hole in his heart where his old pack used to rest, bittersweet memories of playing under the moon and napping in fields and singing pack songs. When he gets Roxas and Xion back, his c- his  _ kids,  _ he almost  _ bitterly  _ wishes he can scent them, wishes he can know their smell, their identity. But he just holds them more tightly and  _ aches.  _

   He tries not to feel bitter when Roxas, Xion, and even Namine change. It makes sense because they were all Nobody’s of weres, Sora and Kairi. Well, as much sense as the whole clusterfuck can make, anyway. The bitterness comes anyway, the hole widens, but he’s still happy for them, happy that they can know what a pack feels like, know what pack songs to sing, how to play in the moonlight and nap curled up in a pile.

   Lea starts spending time with Comet during full moon nights, drinking coffee and just hanging out whenever Roxas and Xion don’t clamour for their attention. It helps to alleviate his hurt, to be around somebody he loves. Comet is just as willing to cuddle as he is, letting him tuck his face in their neck as he curls up in their lap. They obviously know something’s up, but they don’t pry and for that he is so  _ pathetically  _ grateful. He doesn’t even know where to start with his current issues.

   It’s during one such night, Roxas and Xion away at Kaze’s for the month, with him lounging in the armchair with a random novel while Comet mutters over their finance book, that the first cramp hits. It comes out of nowhere, insides hurting like he’s been poisoned, then fades almost instantly. Lea pauses, confused and concerned, and then another cramp hits. Lea huffs and gets up. Was it something he ate? He’s been feeling sick and achy all day. Is he going to throw up?

   “Everything okay?” Comet asks from the kitchen table, looking up from their papers. Lea waves a hand at them.

   “I’m fine,” he insists. “Think I just ate somethin-  _ hurk! _ ”

   Lea goes down like he’s been punched, breath knocking out of him as everything in him  _ clenches _ . He gasps, one arm around his middle and the other clenched on the wooden floor, trying to figure out just  _ what  _ is happening. A scrape of wood on tile and Comet rushes over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

   “Lea?!” They ask, concerned. “Lea, are you okay? What’s happening?”

   “I don’t-” Lea grunts, curling over his arm as his insides clench again, roiling inside of him. “I don’t  _ know.  _ I don’t- _ ”  _ Lea sways, feeling very ill. He falls on his side, blood roaring in his ears.

   Something is very,  _ very  _ wrong.

 

   Your boyfriend falls to his side, pale and sweaty. His breathing is ragged and he’s shivering like he’s sick. He doesn’t respond when you call out to him, nor when you shake his shoulder. Think, Comet, think. Did he eat something bad? You don’t think so. He had breakfast and dinner with you, and is definitely paranoid enough to thoroughly check any strange food over before eating it for lunch. Did he get hit with a poison attack while exploring? Maybe, but an elixir should’ve fixed him up.

   You feel his muscles clench and release underneath your hand, and a horrible suspicion blooms at the back of your mind as the disconnected pieces start to fall into place. 

   You need back-up.

   You bring up your phone and enter a number.

   Isa accepts your call.

   “Comet?” he seems almost surprised. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

   “It’s Lea,” you say, trying to keep calm but knowing that you’re Panicked As Fuck. “Something’s wrong. He’s very sick, and if it’s what I think it is he’ll need a lot of help. Can you come over?”

   “I’m on my way,” Isa says immediately and hangs up. You don’t mind too much. You put your phone away and start shoving furniture away from Lea. You have to acknowledge it now. Lea is probably a were, and has definitely been repressed for much,  _ much _ longer than a year. You don’t know what kind of were he is, but more space is better than no space.

   Blankets.

   You quickly grab an armful from the linen closet and throw them on your couch. God, you don’t know the first thing about this. Sora was conscious enough during his own post-suppression shift, but Lea is definitely Not That. You kneel next to him, placing a hand on his forehead. He’s burning up, more so than usual. He responds slightly to your touch, leaning into it. His eyes are shut, bruises and stress lines appearing under his eyes. He pants, open-mouthed, as if he can’t get enough air into his lungs.

   You hear a knock on your back door.

   You reluctantly leave Lea and head downstairs, taking them two at a time. You throw open the door and can’t stop your face from crumpling when you see Isa. You restrain yourself from throwing your arms around him, but you choke on a stressed sob. Isa takes one look at your face and draws you into a hug himself. You sob openly, nose pressed against his jacket.

   “Sorry… sorry…” you sniff.

   “It’s okay,” Isa tells you, pulling away to look into your eyes. “He’s going to be okay.”

   You hiccup and nod at that, wiping your eyes.

   “He’s upstairs,” you tell Isa stepping aside to let him in. “He didn’t say anything about being a were.”

   “Of course he didn’t,” Isa sighs. “This is partially my fault; I thought he had told you.”

   “It’s okay,” you say as the two of you climb the stairs. “We’ll  _ both  _ kick his ass when he feels better.”

   Isa huffs a laugh through his nose. The two of you get to your living room and he sighs.

   “Oh, Lea,” he says, almost mournfully. “What the hell am I going to do with you?”

   Lea hasn’t moved, but now his clothes are  _ soaked  _ in sweat. He’s shivering, almost violently. You move to grab a blanket from the pile on the couch.

   “It won’t help,” Isa tells you, not unkindly. “We need to get him out of his clothes. Normally it wouldn’t matter but right now they’re going to feel like sandpaper on him.”

   You nod and kneel down next to Lea, Isa joining you. You reach out and grab the waistband of Lea’s pants, knuckles brushing against his skin.

   Lea  _ yelps,  _ jerking like he’s been stabbed. You jump, jerking your hands away from him. Lea whines, a high desperate sound that sounds vaguely like “no.” Isa winces and gingerly grabs the hem of Lea’s shirt.

   “Just keep going,” he tells you, voice low. You reluctantly do so. Lea whines again, shuddering at your touch. You grab his boxers while you’re at it, carefully tugging both of them off.

   “We learned about this some in school.” Isa tells you, voice soft, as he quickly unbuttons Lea’s shirt, carefully tugging it down his arms. The two of you carefully roll Lea to his front. “A post-suppression change is worse than even a newly-turned’s shift. His senses are going haywire, and even air moving against his skin is too much. But,” Isa sighs again as he folds up the shirt, “he will want his pack. Touch hurts him, but according to several firsthand accounts, not being touched by pack will hurt him more.” His fists clench in the folded shirt. “This will be a long night.”

   Lea whines, shivering. You carefully, tenderly place a hand on his arm. His breath hitches, a pained inhale, but the exhale is an almost relieved shudder. Isa reaches out and touches Lea’s other arm, and Lea whimpers again, softly. Somehow, despite the pain still clear on his face, Lea’s breathing eases. You dig your other hand into his hair. Almost mindlessly, you run your hands over his bare torso, feeling muscle twitch and ripple beneath Lea’s skin. You think Isa is doing the same. You think your fingers brush each other.

   Lea grunts, lifting his head. You whip your head around.

   “C’met?” he rasps, gaze unfocused. He squints. “Isa?”

   “Hello, Lea,” Isa says. “I see I can’t leave you for more than five minutes and something happens.”

   Lea groans, letting his head flop down. He huffs with each breath, grimacing, teeth gritted. He strains, back arching slightly, and something crackles in his spine. He gasps, wordless, breathless, before going limp again, shivering. You rub a hand up his back, Isa running a hand down the opposite direction.

   “Is there anything else we can do?” you ask Isa, somewhat desperately. He closes his eyes and shakes his head.

   “The only thing we can do is stay and distract him,” he says, opening his eyes to look into yours. His expression softens, and you can see he is just as worried as you are.

   Distraction.

   You can do distraction.

   “Lea, hey Lea,” you stage-whisper, grabbing one of his hands in yours. Lea grunts, only halfway aware. “Lea, did you tell Isa about the clown cult.”

   “The what?” Isa starts, eyes wide even as he copies you in grabbing Lea’s other hand.

   “Oh, stars, Comet, please,” Lea huffs, almost a laugh as his back crackles again. “You’re just gonna… gonna go ahead and -  _ mmmmngh  _ \- kick me while I’m down?”

   “You’ll be fine,” Isa tells him, somewhat teasing. “Let them speak.”

   Lea mock-whines, but then actually whines as something pops in his torso. He grips your hand, and you gently squeeze back. Lea pants, opened mouth. You can almost see his teeth, see that the canines are a little longer, a little sharper, or it could be your imagination. You wait, running a thumb over Lea’s knuckles.

   Distraction.

   “Anyway, the clown cult,” you say, forcing yourself to sound casual. “It’s because of those purple marks he had as Axel. They looked like the dots you’d find on sad clowns.”

   “What?” Isa asks, flabbergasted.

   “I’m never going to live this down,” Lea huffs, grunting as his vertebrae pop again. “You guys need to stop ganging up on me like this.”

   “Have you never seen a sad clown before?” you ask, amused. “They have the same, or similar, tear marks on their cheeks.”

   “...holy shit,” Isa breathes, and you outright cackle at his stunned face. Lea pouts at you. You pat his side in mock sympathy as you giggle.

   “Look, I broke Isa!” you snicker. “It’s because I’ve exposed him to the truth, and that’s the fact that you’re a goober. A goober clown.”

   “I’m  _ not  _ a goober,” Lea huffs.

   “He’s always been a goober,” Isa tells you, recovering from the Revelation.

   “Ooooh,  _ do  _ tell,” you coo, laughing when Lea whines at you both.

   “Well, there  _ was  _ this time he got trapped in the air vents at school…”

   Isa tells you just how much of a goober Lea was during their childhoods, with painfully accurate details and commentary that leaves you wheezing. You know you don’t have nearly as much dirt on Lea as Isa does, but you think he appreciates your own ridiculous stories. 

   An hour after Isa gets there, the first of the big changes start.

   Lea cries out as his spine snaps upward, vertebrae pressing up against his skin. Bruises bloom down his back as veins darken. You squeeze his hand, transfixed, as vertebrae by vertebrae realign themselves one by one. Trembling, you run your free hand down his side, murmuring nonsense as he wheezes and cries. You look up and make eye contact with Isa. He clenches his jaw, and you can feel an understanding pass between the two of you.

_    He is ours. _

_    He is hurting. _

_    We will stay for as long as he needs us. _

   It stops. Lea sobs, trembling. His back is slightly misshapen. It’s hunched slightly around his shoulders, like it’s lengthened but had nowhere else to go. You swallow and try not to think too hard about it. Lea pants and then  _ screams  _ as his ribs crunch. You grit your teeth, hot tears spilling down your cheeks as Lea’s ribs rearrange themselves one at a time, breast bone cracking, bowing outward to form a barrel shaped rib cage. Lea’s spine arches as if it’s being tugged by a hook, popping and snapping as his legs scrabble against the floorboards.

   You distantly think you should let go, but he’s gripping your hand like a lifeline. 

   Lea suddenly slumps, shuddering. 

   “...ow,” he says weakly after a minute of heavy breathing. Damn him, you want to smack him so bad. Bruises are ugly purple and green splotches over his ribs and back. Even now they heal, but it’s slow going.

   “So how do you know Sora?” Isa asks casually, carefully running a hand down Lea’s side. Lea shudders at the touch.

   “I don’t know that story, either,” Lea says, giving you a look. “How  _ do  _ you know the kid?”

   “Hoo boy,” you sigh gustily, rearranging yourself to sit cross-legged. “It ain’t a long story, but it feels like it’s been ages, so I’ve probably forgotten some details.”

   “We’ve got time,” Isa says dryly.

   “Alright, so, I used to be in this world called Traverse Town. It’s basically the place where strong hearts end up when their world falls or some shit. I grew up there after my world fell.”

   “They’re from Radiant Garden, too,” Lea tells Isa.

   “Hey, who’s telling my story, dingus?” you gripe. “Me or you?” Lea sticks his tongue out at you but falls silent. What a lil shit. 

   “Anyway,” Isa prompts.

_    “Any _ way,” you continue deliberately. “I had a bar in Traverse Town-”

   “What’s a kid doing in your bar?” Lea asks.

   “Holy shit Lea if you keep interrupting I’m going to tweak your ears off.”

   “Alright shutting up.”

   “Thanks,” you sniff. “I had a bar in Traverse Town, and Sora just showed up, said that Pluto lead him there.”

   “Who’s Pluto?” Isa asks.

   “Pluto is a dog,” you say simply, waiting for the inevitable reaction.

   Isa and Lea both look at you incredulously.

   “...a dog?” Isa asks, looking incredibly confused. 

   “Eyup,” you confirm. “A yellow dog. Named Pluto. My siblings and I think he’s this benevolent chaotic entity who chose to be dog-shaped because he wants to be friends, but we don’t have any proof.”

   “Dang, that dog is everywhere. You-” Lea winces when something cricks audibly in his neck. He shakes his head, sighing in relief when there’s another  _ criiick.  _ “You have siblings? When were you gonna tell me you have sibs?”

   “When were you gonna tell me you’re a were?” you crack back. Isa snorts and Lea blushes. You feel the bones of his hands creak.

   “Anyway, Pluto the Chaotic Dog led Sora to my bar,” you continue. “And Sora, who back then barely reached my  _ waist,  _ was a little rough around the edges and looking lost.”

   “Stars, he was that tiny?!” Lea gapes, eyes wide. “Damn, he shot up.”

   “Like a fucking weed,” you agree. “So, like, imagine Babiest Boy Sora, and he’s got dirt on his face and scrapes on his knees and tears in his widdle white jacket. He’s got these big blue eyes and the worst case of baby face I’ve ever seen. He looks lost and alone and you bet your ass that set off all my big sib alarms.”

   “As expected,” Isa says dryly. Is he… teasing you?

   “Oh, hush,” you sniff, but pause as Lea gasps, bones creaking. He tugs his hand from yours as it snaps and pops, holding both hands close to his chest as they warp, claws sprouting from bleeding nail beds and thick pads of skin forming on his palms and fingertips. He waits a moment, panting, before sliding his hands back into yours and Isa’s. You gently rub the back of his warped hand with your thumb. 

   “So I look at this absolute child and I’m like ‘I gotta take this kid to my sis’,” you continue after a moment. “My sis is a healer, by the way. So we leave my bar and head out and that’s when I lose him.”

   “Wait,” Lea interrupts. “Wait, wait, wait. You lost Sora.”

   “Yes.”

   “You,” Lea continues, grinning. “Comet, Big Sib Extraordinaire, lost an entire actual child.”

   “That  _ does  _ seem unlike you,” Isa puts in, smirking.

   “I hyperfocused on a battle, okay?” You wheeze, embarrassed. “I was a used to my siblings staying close during a fight.”

   “This is what happens when you spar with the same people over and over again,” Isa gently chides.

   “I knowww,” you groan. “And I beat myself up for it a bunch when I tore through Traverse Town looking for him. I found him again, eventually. It turned out my brother decided to be a butthead and beat him up.”

   “Because you lost him!” Lea laughs, Isa snickering across from you.

   “Both of you shut,” you hiss. “You’re all so mean to me.”

   “Aww, you love us,” Lea teases.

   “I’ve got the return receipts. I can return you any time.”

   Lea pouts at you for that one, sweat and pain around and in his eyes making it especially effective.

   “See now you’re playing dirty,” you tell Lea, but lean forward and kiss his forward. “I guess I’ll keep you anyway. I love you.”

   “Love you,” Lea hums back.

   “Anyway, do you jackasses want the rest of the story or not?”

   “I want to hear the story,” Isa pipes up before Lea can crack wise.

   “Okay, so I find Sora and he’s with my brother and other sis and now he’s  _ super  _ beat up because my jackass of a little brother beat him up for no good reason,” you continue. “I cussed him out for that one.”

   “In front of sweet baby boy Sora?” Lea teases, then winces when his arms creak. His hand goes strangely limp in yours as his arms slowly lengthen, crunching like glowsticks. Lea pants, whimpering and open-mouthed, drool pooling on the floorboards beneath him. You trail a hand gently over his transforming arms as Isa runs his hand down Lea’s back. Eventually, Lea gets control over his hands again to properly grip your palm. There’s another wash of bruises over his joints. You notice that the bruises over his back and ribs have faded.

   “I didn’t cuss in  _ front  _ of him,” you evade. “I tugged my bro out the door. Could’ve been anybody swearing at him.”

   “I don’t think that’s how it works,” Isa says, smiling slightly.

   “Totally… how it works,” Lea pants.

   “If they didn’t see me then they can’t tattle on me,” you say with a nod. Isa rolls his eyes at the both of you.

   “So I drag my bro out of the room and he gets Mysteriously Cussed Out,” you say, cheeky. “And I go back in to properly check Sora over and a heartless appears in the room! That’s not supposed to happen, by the way.”

   “We… figured…” Lea pants. Hair has started growing down his jaw and spine, patches appearing on the back of his hands.

   “So I’m like ‘oh dang we gotta find the leader’ and Sora decides that boy howdy he wants to fight some heartless!”

   “‘Boy howdy’,” Lea repeats with a labored snicker.

   “Shush. Anyway, I’m going to go ahead and roast myself on this one. I lost Sora again.”

   “Again?” Isa asks, amused.

   “Kid’s a were and he’s a  _ speedy  _ little brat,” you defend yourself.

   “Why didn’t… why didn’t you…” Lea huffs, struggling to think. “The thingy...with the…?”

   “The lightning dash,” Isa fills in.

   “Hadn’t made it yet,” you admit. “Didn’t have the space to do so.”

   “Oh. Right.” Lea says. Normally you’d tease him for forgetting something he’d  _ been _ there for, but in his state you could hardly blame him for letting something slip his mind.

   “So Speedy Sora just sprints past a bunch of heartless ambushes that I’ve gotta somehow dodge  _ and  _ try to catch up with Mr. Impatient Cub,” you continue. “And I’m almost caught up to him, I can  _ see  _ him in the fountain plaza, and I get to see him get crushed by a mysteriously falling Donald Duck and Goofy.”

   “Really?” Isa actually laughs. “They just fall from the sky?”

   “I mean, they probably fell off a roof or something for all I know,” you say with a shrug. “I got stopped by a stone pillar that just fuckin’... sprouts out of the cobblestone for no good reason.”

   “You can climb that,” Lea huffs. You’re a little touched that he’s that confident in your abilities.

   “Oh, totally,” you confirm. “I climb that thing no problem. But then there’s a forcefield up top that keeps me from breaking through.”

   “Could you not have broken through?” Isa asks. “You’ve done it before.”

   “Guys, y’all have  _ got  _ to understand that I wasn’t cool back then,” you laugh.

   “I think you’re cool,” Lea says. It’s very sweet. 

   “Your loyalty is appreciated,” you tell him, kissing his knuckles. Lea huffs, then tenses. You and Isa fall silent, running hands through rapidly growing fur as Lea’s feet and legs crunch and crack and warp, arches lengthening and legs warping into a more animal shape. Lea wheezes when it finishes, muscles twitching just beneath his skin. You dig your fingers into his ruff, massaging the back of his neck.

   “So a duck, a dog, and Ultimate Babyface fight off this giant armor heartless, which isn’t so impressive now but y’all gotta remember: this was  _ baby  _ Sora. This was 'I just turned thirteen but I look like I’m ten' Sora. That Sora. And he didn’t know magic either. This thing was like three times his size, too.”

   “That is still impressive, considering his skills back then,” Isa says. Lea huffs in agreement.

   “So they finish the fight, and then I gotta shock the shit out of my bro because I’m Petty and he tried to tell Sora what to do,” you continue. “Then Donald Dick-”

   “ _ What, _ ” Isa interrupts.

   “Donald Duck thinks he can go ahead and drag Sora on a space adventure without even letting the kid eat,” you huff. 

   “You took him home and fed him, didn’t you?” Lea pipes up.

   You pause. Isa raises an eyebrow at you.

   “You adopted him,  _ didn’t you?”  _ Lea accuses.

   “No I didn’t shut your mouth,” you deny.

   “No wonder you like them, Lea,” Isa says, something like a rueful smile crossing his face. “They take in as many strays as you do.”

   “How is he not still here where you can watch him when you’ve so  _ clearly  _ adopted him?” Lea laughs, face twitching as his ears tug into longer shapes.

   “Because he has a mom and she scares the absolute shit out of me,” you confess. “And I can’t control where that brat goes.”

   “Oh, truth,” Lea agrees.

   “Soyokaze is a truly intimidating woman,” Isa says.

   Lea grunts, back popping again. A hard lump forms at his tailbone, then another, and another. Slowly, bit by bit, a tail forms, twitching and snapping at odd angles as it grows. Lea huffs, eyes squeezed shut, then relaxes. He cracks an eye open, glancing over his shoulder at his tail. It swishes around his thighs. He huffs and lays his head back down.

   “Speaking of,” you pipe up, turning to Isa. “We think she’s fucking Dilan now.”

   “ _ She’s fucking wHO?!”  _ Lea yelps, whipping his head up to look at you, alarmed.

   “ _ Fascinating, _ ” Isa says, lips twitching.

   “Gee, Lea, did you totally miss when Sora came in to sulk about it?” you tease your boyfriend.

   “Excellent observational skills, as always,” Isa joins in.

   “Shove it, the both of you,” Lea growls, baring  _ much  _ larger teeth at the two of you. 

   Hoo, boy. Down, Comet.

   “Make me.”  _ That’s not down, Comet. _

   Lea huffs and lays his head back down.

   “The moment I’m capable of movement, it’s over for you bitches,” Lea grumps.

   “Bring it on,” Isa replies.

   “As if you could catch me,” you snark.

   “You’re both terrible.”

   “Was that your only interaction with Sora?” Isa asks you, getting back to his original topic.

   “Nah, he came in between worlds, sometimes,” you say. “Sometimes more often than that. He needed a safe place to shift so I let him into my den.”

   Both Isa and Lea  _ Look  _ at you.

   “What?” You ask defensively.

   “Are you  _ sure  _ there aren’t any adoption papers-” Lea starts.

   “No, Lea, there aren’t any adoption papers and Kaze would rip me to pieces,” you sigh. “Also there’s nothing official in Traverse Town and that’s probably what saved my life.”

   “Sora still comes by, though?” Lea says. “He still calls your den his own.”

   “Bold of you to assume Sora doesn’t adopt everybody he lays his eyes on and likes,” you snip. “And also I’m pretty sure Kaze adopted me, too. She trusts me to keep him out of trouble or something, I think.”

   “Aww, you’re an untie,” Lea teases. He’s almost entirely covered in fur now, muscles finishing up with bulking and adjusting to new shapes. The fur is crawling over his face and what you can see of his chest.

   “Noooo, stop,” you whine. 

   “You have a big heart,” Isa observes. “And are a very kind person.”

   You duck your head, shoulders scrunching as your face burns.

   Lea grunts, drawing your attention to him. His breath hitches as his cheekbones snap, nose crunching up. He parts his jaw and  _ growls  _ as his face pushes out, fur crawling over his nose and cheeks. There’s a puddle of drool under his head, now, and more drips from his mouth as it forms into a snout. Lea snaps his teeth, finishing off with a snarl.

   And then it’s  _ over.  _ Lea immediately goes limp, panting, shivering. A wolf lies in his place, if one with dramatic red colouring matching his hair. 

   “Oh, thank fuck,” he rasps, and you immediately notice how much deeper and gruffer his voice is. “Oh, stars, that was awful.”

   “Holy shit,” you let out a breath you hadn’t known you’d been holding.

   “Ouch,” Isa winces, running his hand over Lea’s back and side. “How are you doing, Lea?”

   “If either of you move away from me I  _ may  _ cry,  _ just  _ so you know,” Lea wheezes, squeezing your hand. 

   You look across at Isa and he smirks with you.

   “Oh, what a terrible fate,” you moan dramatically as you snuggle up to Lea, nudging up under his arm. “I have to snuggle up to my were boyfriend. Who can bare such a burden?”

   “Such a tragedy,” Isa says, presumably lying down on his side. “We are the only ones capable of this. We must do our duty.”

   “Nevermind, you guys both suck,” Lea gruffs, but his tail is wagging.

   It takes no time at all for Lea to fall asleep. You look at his face, taking in new details. His fur is entirely red, with deeper and lighter tones in certain areas. His hair melds seamlessly with his ruff. Somehow, his eyebrows are still very distinctive. 

   “...thanks,” you whisper, “for coming over, Isa.”

   “It’s good that you called,” Isa says. “Lea never did pay attention in school.”

   “He’s silly like that,” you huff, digging fingers into Lea’s fur. Isa makes a noise of agreement.

   “...are  _ you  _ okay?” Isa asks.

   “Physically, yes,” you say.

   “And emotionally?”

   “...not really no. I’m terrified because somebody I care about is hurting, and is probably going to hurt for years, and I can’t do anything about it.”

   Funny. Your voice is thick.

   “What’re we going to  _ do _ , Isa?” You can’t help but ask, tears pricking your eyes. A hand touches yours from across Lea’s back.

   “We do what we did just now,” Isa whispers, carefully gripping your hand. “We stay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> something to keep in mind: Lea has an INSANELY high pain tolerance, and probably thought the sickness around previous full moons was just depression or something. He's a bit of a moron that way.
> 
> Also to those of you who guessed what he is (you know who you are), you were right! Lea is a bonafide werewolf. I thought the irony, considering Isa is our personal discount werewolf, was too good to pass up. Not to mention that Lea feels too much like a loyal, protective dog to be anything but.


	3. The Dog Days Are Over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning after, another story, and an important discovery.

  “Comet, wake up.”

  You grumble but open your eyes, neck stiff and body sore. In front of your face is a big, red muzzle. You blink blearily at it, before your memories return to you. That’s Lea. That’s Lea’s muzzle. He changed last night, probably for the first time in over a decade. But he’s still asleep. So that means…

  “Mornin’, Isa,” you rasp as you haul yourself upright. “W’ssup?”

  “Good morning,” he replies politely. “The sun is going to rise soon. Lea will be changing back once it does.”

  “Oh,” you say, and then your mind catches up with you and you can feel the blood drain from your face.  _ “Oh.” _

__ “Yes,” Isa agrees simply. “I figured you would want a rundown of what will happen.”

  “Yes, please,” you say. 

  “It will hurt him, but reversals are generally faster,” Isa begins. “His fur will recede somewhat, but most of it will just… shed. There will obviously be a lot of it.”

  “Yikes,” you hiss, looking over Lea’s body. “I don’t know if I have enough lint rollers for this.”

  Isa huffs a laugh through his nose, giving you a wry smile.

  “It’s good you have wooden floors,” Isa tells you, eyes crinkling with his amusement. “He will be… sore, after. He won’t be able to move on his own. We’ll also need to feed him. Changing, especially after being repressed for so long, takes quite a bit out of a were.”

  “Who do you think got him to healthy weight?” You snark. “I’ve been shoving food down his throat for a while now.”

  “That was you?” Isa asks, blinking. 

  “This dingus thought a piece of peanut butter toast and half an apple was an acceptable meal. For the whole day.” You gripe, even as you affectionately run a hand through Lea’s ruff. You look at the handful of fur that brought you. “Dang, that’s a lot of hair. Anyway, Kairi and I shoved food and meal bars on him as often as we could. I’m sure I’ve got some leftover meal bars we can give him while we cook some actual breakfast.”

  “Could you guys not talk about me like I’m not here?” Lea grumbles, lifting his head to give the two of you a grumpy look.

  “I’m sorry, who’s the idiot who didn’t tell his partner he was a were?” Isa scolds. “ _ And  _ who apparently didn’t feed himself until said partner got their hands on him? Thank you for that, Comet.”

  “Not a problem,” you tell him. “How you feelin’, Lea?”

  “Sore,” Lea grumbles, resting his head on the floor once more. “Tired. Feel kinda dumb for forgetting something this important.”

  “You’re not dumb,” you and Isa say almost simultaneously. You give each other a surprised look as Lea snickers.

  “You’re not dumb, Lea,” Isa continues. “You just have trouble focusing when the teachers are boring.”

  “Just a lil bit ADD,” you add. “And we forgive you for scaring the shit out of us.”

  “That might still be under review,” Isa grumbles picking off a few handfuls of loose fur from Lea’s shoulder. Lea sighs gustily.

  “I’m sorry I scared you guys,” he says sarcastically, but you can tell he’s sincere.

  “I  _ suppose  _ I can forgive you,” Isa sniffs, adding another giant handful of fur to his pile.

  “Seconded,” you say, adding more fur to your own pile. “I almost think we should bring out a brush, but I fear for the poor brush.”

  “No brush deserves this,” Isa tells you, holding up yet another handful of thick fur.

  “You two are terrible,” Lea huffs, voice strained. You can feel his body tense and ripple beneath your hands. You and Isa look at each other.

_ Distract?  _ You mouth. Isa nods, gesturing to you.

  “Did I ever tell you how I got my scars?” You begin.

  “Sora- Sora said,” Lea strains, gasping as the muscles in his back seize up. “Sora said you got it from…  _ ugh… _ ”

  “Sora said you got it from your magic,” Isa finishes for Lea. 

  “Yeah, that,” Lea huffs.

  “Kid has a long memory for some things,” you hum, tugging a chunk of loose fur from around Lea’s neck. Lea groans appreciatively, wincing as his arms seize up. “But, yeah, I did get them from my magic. What do you know about wild magic?”

  “Not much,” Lea admits.

  “It doesn’t rely on incantations,” Isa speaks up. “Nor does it use much mana, but it’s riskier.”

  “That’s pretty much right,” you tell Isa, giving him a pleased smile. “I don’t use incantations and it’s a helluva lot riskier than nice, structured spells. However, I  _ do  _ use mana, but not the stuff that comes from my own body, for the most part. I use the mana in the world  _ around  _ me.”

  “Holy  _ shIT-”  _ Lea’s sentence is cut off as his spine crunches. You and Isa carefully run hands up and down Lea’s body as his spine shrinks down to more human proportions, tail snapping and cracking at odd angles as it recedes into his body. Lea pants, drooling slightly.

  “That sounds…  _ exceedingly  _ dangerous,” Isa says, giving you a concerned look. Lea whines wordlessly in agreement.

  “It was,” you agree. “I’m lucky to be alive.”

  “How did it happen?” Isa asks.

  “It was about, hmm, maybe a year or two after we first landed in Traverse Town?” you begin, outright sweeping loose fur off of Lea’s smaller back. “I’d found a book on the subject in one of the empty houses that pop up every now and then. I read the thing back to front several times, and I thought it sounded cool. Also, I was looking for ways to look out for my sibs.”

  “Firepower?” Isa asks, raising an eyebrow at you. You shrug, not denying his subtle accusation.

  “Lots of people who made it to Traverse Town weren’t exactly… nice,” you say, giving Isa a significant look. He winces sympathetically. Lea groans deeply, grabbing his head with shrinking hands. His snout recedes into his face, bones crunching and popping as fur sloughs off, leaving only his normal hair. The rest of his body crunches in on itself, and you and Isa retreat slightly as Lea’s legs and arms lash out, flailing involuntarily as they shrink back down to human shape. You and Isa wait a moment before going back to Lea’s side. You carefully brush a hand down Lea’s back, wiping away the now completely loose fur. Lea whimpers, body trembling.

  “Now would be a good time for the blanket,” Isa tells you. You nod and reluctantly get up. Lea whines pathetically, so you make the trip quick and grab the softest, biggest blanket and drape it over Lea. You and Isa work together to burrito him up, tucking the blanket around him and laying him on his back with some pillows to support his head. The two of you resume your reclined positions on either side of Lea. Eventually, Lea groans and opens his eyes.

  “So what’s this about my datemate being stupid? Is it my turn to make fun of you?” Lea mumbles, side-eyeing you as best he can.

  “Yeah, you don’t get to talk,” you huff at him.

  “I thought you said I wasn’t stupid?” Lea teases.

  “Like any clause, there are exceptions,” Isa pipes up. “You’ve done plenty of stupid things in your lifetime, and Comet is trying to tell us one of theirs.”

  “See, Isa appreciates my storytelling!” You grump. “Stars, you must’ve been a terror as a kid.”

  “He still is,” Isa jibes.

  “What, a kid or a terror?” You ask, making Isa laugh.

  “Gosh, fine, mouth is shut,” Lea huffs, closing his eyes again.

  “Finally,” you tease, kissing his cheek. “Where was I?”

  “Not nice people,” Isa prompts.

  “Right, right,” you hum. “So I’m the eldest kid there and that means it’s my job to make sure they’re safe, and I’ve got this book full of wild magic theory, that I’ve read back to front. I see a rainstorm and I get an idea.”

  “Oh, no,” Isa actually groans, covering his face. “Was Merlin not there to watch you?”

  “Nope, not yet,” you tell him. “Just me, Cid, and my baby siblings. I also kept this shit secret.”

  “Oh my  _ fucking God,  _ Comet,” Lea hisses. “You fucked around with magic like that without supervision?”

  “What, y’all thought I popped into existence full of wisdom?” You laugh. “Nah, I earned that the  _ hard way. _ ”

  “Holy shit,” Isa mumbles into his hands.

  “Anyway, I was an unsupervised, angry teenager who felt like they needed a lot more firepower to protect their sibs,” you continue, somewhat enjoying the reactions to your story. “So one night, during a particularly nasty thunderstorm, I wait until everybody’s asleep and go out to catch some lightning.”

  “Oh nooooooo,” Lea groans.

  “Oh yeeees!” You cackle. “My dumb ass goes to the highest point I can get to in Traverse Town. I, with all the confidence of an idiot teenager, stick my hand out and call a bolt to me.”

  Lea and Isa both hiss through their teeth, likely imagining the damage.

  “Yeah, the seizures didn’t stop until I could release the lightning back into the sky,” you tell them casually. “Lost all feeling in my arms. Couldn’t move them either, which was terrifying.”

  “You were  _ defenseless?  _ Wasn’t that place  _ full _ of heartless?! **_”_ ** Lea actually yelps, managing to turn his head to look at you. Isa looks a bit stricken, too.

  “Did I mention I was a stupid kid?” You drawl. “Because I was the fucking  _ stupidest teenager of them all. _ ”

  “Moon’s grace, this explains  _ so much  _ about you,” Isa groans, gripping the bridge of his nose.

  “Wow, rude,” you huff. “I only lost most of my brain cells during my angsty teenage years.  _ Most  _ of them.”

  “Comet, the moment I’m capable of moving I’m not letting you go for the rest of the day,” Lea grumps.

  “You can’t put me under house arrest, Lea,” you tell him. “You can’t either, Isa. Anyway, the story.”

  “You’re going to make me go gray before I’m even forty,” Lea grumbles.

  “Hypocritical but go off I guess,” you crack. “So long story short I make it home in tears, get bedridden for days because of fucked up arms  _ and  _ I probably grazed my heart-”

_ “You  _ **_wHAT?!”_ ** Isa and Lea both yelp.

  “-and I refused to go outside for like two months,” you finish blithely. “And that’s how I got my magic and my really cool but stupidly-gained scars. And I didn’t mess around much until Merlin arrived and could spot me. The end.”

  Lea and Isa just stare at you, gobsmacked. You smile serenely, kiss Lea’s forehead, and get up.

  “I’m feeling like chorizo hash today,” you say casually. “How many eggs y’all want?”

 

  After a long breakfast involving fending off concerns and browbeating Lea into accepting that, yes, he needs help feeding himself, you and Isa discover something Very Important.

  Lea has gotten taller.

  About half a foot taller.

  “Lea, you are almost seven feet tall,” you say conversationally, hands together and pressing against your mouth. “ _ None  _ of your clothes are going to fit now. Not that they were made for were’s to start with, but now they’re not going to even fit human you.”

  “Awww, fuck,” Lea grumbles, still wrapped in a blanket. “I  _ liked  _ my clothes.”

  “See, we could’ve make it work for the day if you wore anything besides skinny jeans and tight shirts,” you continue, Isa shaking with suppressed laughter next to you. “But noooo you’ve gotta show off at all times, huh?”

  “None of my clothes will even come close to fitting,” Isa finally speaks up. “He was taller than me  _ before  _ he shot up.”

  “Yeah, you’re a little wider in the shoulder than he is, but he’s  _ much _ taller.” you muse. “Welp, guess we’ve gotta go get Lea some new… well, everything I guess.”

  “Looks like  _ I’m  _ the one under house arrest,” Lea grumps, finally standing. You’re going to have to get used to looking up at him - more so than usual, anyway.

  “Oh, how the tables have turned,” you laugh. “C’mon, Isa, let’s go get our idiot some clothes. Don’t chew on the furniture while we’re gone.”

  “Perhaps we should set up a gate so the puppy doesn’t fall down the stairs?” Isa teases, eyes twinkling with mirth. It’s a good look on him.

  “Oh, I’m never gonna hear the end of the dog jokes, huh?” Lea grumbles, lips twitching as he tries not to smirk. 

  “Yeah, you’re in the dog house, buddy,” you crack.

  “That’s a doggone shame,” Isa drawls. 

_ “HA!”  _ You bark, clapping your hands.

  “Whatever I did to deserve you two assholes, I didn’t enjoy it nearly enough,” Lea gripes, grinning. “Now get outta here or I  _ will  _ walk naked through the streets.”

  “I, hehe, I triple dog dare ya!” You gasp out before breaking into giggles yet again. Isa rolls his eyes, almost fondly, before grabbing you by the back of your jacket and dragging you out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Orion trots in with a file marked "worldbuilding"- So! Quick worldbuilding notes before I leave you guys - being a Nobody really fucked Lea up. For starters, Shyrstyne and I headcanon that Nobodies are basically undead and don't really need to eat. They _can_ eat, they just don't _need_ to. So what does a kid who doesn't really feel anything do about eating? Probably eats nothing but sea salt ice creams at the end of the day. That, coupled with being cut off from being a were (which is _fucking important_ , especially around puberty n shit), means that Lea's got a bit of undernourishment issues. So now that Comet's shoved food down his throat to get him to a decent body composition, as well as _finally_ reconnecting with his wolf blood, means that his body's finally caught up to itself.  
> For height, we headcanon normal, or pre-boof, Lea at about 6'3". Decently tall, yeah? Post-boof human Lea is a whopping 6'8". We stretched this motherfucker out because we _can._ Which also means that all his clothes don't fit. Welp.  
> And a size reference for his wolf form? If he's standing up on his hind legs, werewolf!Lea reaches an unbelievable 8', maybe an inch or so over. What can we say? We like our monsters Big.  
> And that's a wrap for We Stay! Thanks for sticking this fic through! We really appreciate all the feedback we've gotten from you guys. We love you all!


End file.
